Mark Blankenship
Encyclopedia
Mark Blankenship is a writer, critic and the co-creator and editor-in-chief of the popular culture blog The Critical Condition.
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University
in Atlanta, GA, where he majored in Theater Studies and minored in English literature. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2001, and he is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society
. While at Emory, he served as the theatre, film and music critic of the student newspaper, The Emory Wheel
. He also studied theater at Oxford University. Blankenship
attended Yale School of Drama
from 2002–2005 and holds a Master of Fine Arts
in Dramaturgy
and Dramatic Criticism.
As an undergraduate at Emory, he was a member —and during his sophomore
year, president—of Rathskellar, the university
's comedy improv
troupe. Blankenship also acted in and was dramaturge
for several productions at Theater Emory, an Equity
theatre
He was a member of the Emory Scholars, and co-founded the Scholarship and Service Summer Program,, which places students in summer internships with local non-profits.
While still a senior at Emory, he was hired as Literary Manager of Atlanta's Horizon Theatre Company, a position he held from April 2001—August 2002.
In late 2001, he was cast as the voice of Dooley, the Southern Movie Hound on the short-lived Turner South
series The Southern Movie Hound.
While at Yale, Blankenship began writing for Variety
, The Village Voice
(where he was among the inaugural participants in the publication's University Wits series, and American Theatre. He also served as dramaturg for Yale Repertory Theatre
's 2005 production of August Strindberg
's Miss Julie
.
Notable classmates from Yale School of Drama
include Sarah Treem (staff writer for HBO's In Treatment
), Rolin Jones
(Pulitzer Prize
-nominated playwright for The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow
, staff writer for Showtime's Weeds
, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
(staff writer for HBO's Big Love
, author of several comic books for Marvel
) and Maulik Pancholy
(co-star of 30 Rock
and Weeds)
He has lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn
since 2005. His writing credits include numerous pieces for The New York Times
, Variety
, New York Daily News, The Village Voice
, The Advocate
, Time Out New York, The Huffington Post
, NPR
and American Theatre. He regularly appears as panelist/expert commentator for CBC News: Sunday
and CNN.com.
In 2008 Blankenship founded the pop culture blog The Critical Condition with Art Meets Commerce, a New-York based new media advertising and marketing firm. The blog seeks to engage readers in dialogue about various aspects of pop culture, acknowledges the impact it has on the larger culture and offers insight and analysis of the ways it is shaped by the changing zeitgeist
. As an entity, it has itself become part of the increasingly interconnected "conversation" that exists among culture bloggers.
Received an American Theatre/Jerome Foundation Fellowship for arts writing.
Biography
Mark Blankenship was born in Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, GA, where he majored in Theater Studies and minored in English literature. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2001, and he is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
. While at Emory, he served as the theatre, film and music critic of the student newspaper, The Emory Wheel
The Emory Wheel
The Emory Wheel is the student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Wheel is published twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, during the regular school year, and is updated regularly at its . The sections of the Wheel include News, Editorials, Sports, Entertainment, Arts &...
. He also studied theater at Oxford University. Blankenship
attended Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
from 2002–2005 and holds a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Dramaturgy
Dramaturgy
Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. Dramaturgy is a distinct practice separate from play writing and directing, although a single individual may perform any combination of the three. Some dramatists combine writing and...
and Dramatic Criticism.
As an undergraduate at Emory, he was a member —and during his sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
year, president—of Rathskellar, the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
's comedy improv
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
troupe. Blankenship also acted in and was dramaturge
Dramaturge
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas...
for several productions at Theater Emory, an Equity
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
theatre
He was a member of the Emory Scholars, and co-founded the Scholarship and Service Summer Program,, which places students in summer internships with local non-profits.
While still a senior at Emory, he was hired as Literary Manager of Atlanta's Horizon Theatre Company, a position he held from April 2001—August 2002.
In late 2001, he was cast as the voice of Dooley, the Southern Movie Hound on the short-lived Turner South
Turner South
Turner South was an American cable television network launched on October 1, 1999 by Turner Broadcasting System as the first regional entertainment network developed especially for viewers in the southern United States...
series The Southern Movie Hound.
While at Yale, Blankenship began writing for Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
(where he was among the inaugural participants in the publication's University Wits series, and American Theatre. He also served as dramaturg for Yale Repertory Theatre
Yale Repertory Theatre
The Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
's 2005 production of August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
's Miss Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
.
Notable classmates from Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
include Sarah Treem (staff writer for HBO's In Treatment
In Treatment
In Treatment is an American HBO drama, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, about a psychologist, 50-something Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients, as well as those with his own therapist at the end of the week. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on...
), Rolin Jones
Rolin Jones
Rolin Jones is a playwright and television writer. He has worked on Showtime's Weeds and NBC drama Friday Night Lights. His plays include The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow: An Instant Message with Excitable Music and Sovereignty....
(Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-nominated playwright for The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow is a play written by Rolin Jones. The play had its world premiere at South Coast Repertory in 2003.Set in Calabasas, California, it tells the story of Jennifer Marcus, a 22-year-old genius with obsessive compulsive disorder and agoraphobia...
, staff writer for Showtime's Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter and comic-book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the HBO drama series Big Love.-Biography:...
(staff writer for HBO's Big Love
Big Love
Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
, author of several comic books for Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
) and Maulik Pancholy
Maulik Pancholy
Maulik Pancholy is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Sanjay on Weeds from 2005 to present, and his role as Jonathan on 30 Rock, which he has played since the show began in 2006....
(co-star of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
and Weeds)
He has lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
since 2005. His writing credits include numerous pieces for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, New York Daily News, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, Time Out New York, The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
and American Theatre. He regularly appears as panelist/expert commentator for CBC News: Sunday
CBC News: Sunday
CBC News: Sunday was a weekly television newsmagazine series in Canada, which aired on Sunday mornings on both CBC Newsworld and CBC Television...
and CNN.com.
In 2008 Blankenship founded the pop culture blog The Critical Condition with Art Meets Commerce, a New-York based new media advertising and marketing firm. The blog seeks to engage readers in dialogue about various aspects of pop culture, acknowledges the impact it has on the larger culture and offers insight and analysis of the ways it is shaped by the changing zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
. As an entity, it has itself become part of the increasingly interconnected "conversation" that exists among culture bloggers.
Awards/Honors
One of seven judges for the 2008 Obie AwardsReceived an American Theatre/Jerome Foundation Fellowship for arts writing.